CityShares looking to invest $20M in Harlem

From left: Seth Weissman and 426 Bainbridge Street, one of his fund’s properties in Brooklyn

Brooklyn investor Seth Weissman is targeting a new neighborhood with his venture CityShares, a fund that enables its participants to reap the benefits of increasing apartment demand in gentrifying areas.

The money is used to purchase rental buildings. Investors who pledge $100,000 or more become partial owners of the properties and get part of the rent roll.

Weissman — who has halfway reached his goal of $5 million in investments to buy properties in Bedford-Stuyvesant, is now looking to raise $20 million in Harlem. More funds are planned for Bushwick, Crown Heights and Sunset Park in Brooklyn.

In Bedford-Stuyvestant, Weissman is planning to invest $15 million in properties and renovate them — with $5 million coming from investors and $10 million from loans.

Weissman, who formerly worked for Goldman Sachs and Perry Capital, said that CityShares is the first program of its kind that offers a way to invest in up-and-coming markets. [Bloomberg News]— Claire Moses